The two trains raced furiously against each other parallel on the tracks, and for the first time White could see the enemies in hot pursuit, perched on top of the opposing train like a flock of Murkrow. As she watched, a hatch on the side of the cart adjacent to hers swung open smoothly despite the high velocity of the train, sunlight glinting off of the steel panel. A tall woman, not too much older than White herself, materialized in the opening, her brunette hair whipping to the side from the wind. Her piercing violet eyes immediately caught White's attention as she narrowed them to shield from the blast of air. Was she the one behind this entire train operation? White pondered, continuing to stare at the woman. She was thrown out of her stupor as the woman's eyes flitted toward her, and a smirk lit her features as White recoiled visibly in surprise. The woman took a half step back, the smirk remaining on her face, and gestured to someone not visible to White from further back in the train cart. She then walked authoritatively out of sight herself, leaving White with many questions about the mysterious woman swirling around in her head.

"What on earth was that all about?" Black questioned, catching the chaotic look on White's face. "Have you ever seen that woman before?"

White turned slowly, creasing her eyebrows in confusion. "I'm just as lost as you." She confessed. "I've never seen that lady in my life, but she looks…important."

"Something is definitely suspicious about her." Black agreed.

As he spoke, bright sparks flew from the opened hatch, crackling loudly in the narrow gap between the trains. White and Black pulled into defensive stances as several dozen Magnemites poured out of the opening, sending out electricity from their sides and lighting up the area. They filed one by one, their round metal bodies filling the gap between the trains, and lined up, evenly spaced between windows.

"What on earth…" White managed, before the train cart suddenly lurched violently beneath her feet. Both her and Black grabbed onto the nearest seats, attempting to stabilize themselves as the cart continued to buck wildly. It was then that she understood what the Magnemite were doing. The Pokemon had lined up and placed their magnets on each train, successfully welding the two metal trains with one another. The train lurched violently due to the two trains suddenly and reluctantly locking speeds with one another, and White realized with discomfort that their train had begun to slow down as it got reined in by the symmetrical train. Her stomach continued to plunge as she watched the figures that had crouched on the roof of the train begin to move, throwing their grappling hooks across to secure their foothold and wait for the trains to slow down.

A loud commotion along with stomping feet suddenly emanated from the cart ahead of them, and White and Black's heads snapped toward the door as Emmet burst through, accompanied closely by Austin, who held his arms sharply behind him.

"Are you two ok?" Emmet asked urgently, relaxing when he saw the two completely unscathed but slightly panicked.

"We came to get a better understanding of the situation." Austin explained. "There's only so much you can see from the front cart." He grimaced as he glanced out of the windows at the Magnemite.

"Well, we did see something" White offered. "Something probably important."

"A young woman appeared in front of the hatch." Black followed up. "We think she's leading the operation, since she appeared to be giving orders."

"A young woman, you say?" Emmet frowned, a hand placed on his chin thoughtfully.

"She had brown hair, and… These bright violet eyes." White recalled. Emmet continued to stare at her thoughtfully, before Austin chimed in.

"We should probably continue on and check the next carts, as planned." He suggested. Emmet nodded several times in response, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Hold this cart and the one ahead of you, will you?" Emmet instructed them. "We'll be holding the cart with Elesa's cargo, so I'm afraid we can't help you if things go south. If you're truly outmatched, then try and come to us." White and Black both nodded in agreement, and then nodded at one another in reassurance.

"I think we'll be fine." Black grinned at White, pulling out a Pokeball from his bag. White did the same, grabbing the Pokeball containing her trusted starter, Samurott.

"We'll leave you to it then." Emmet responded, and he and Austin quickly ran toward the back of the cart, disappearing through the doorway. White stared at the emptied doorway, but turned around in surprise as she heard laughter come from behind her. Black was shaking his head, his mouth upturned in a rueful smile.

"What could possibly be so funny?" White asked hotly.

"Man, I thought this was going to be a boring old, routine delivery." He explained. "Didn't think we'd be pulling up parallel to a train full of thugs!"

White shook her head in amazement, grinning. "It is so like you to not take these things seriously, isn't it?"

Black allowed another short laugh, scratching the back of his head as a sign of defeat to the accusation. "Well, I'll go cover the next cart, and you can stay here." He offered.

"Sounds good." White gave him a thumbs up. "Oh, and be careful, too."

Black lifted the Pokeball he had been holding. "There's nothing to worry about with my trusty Emboar by my side!" He declared before sprinting toward the cart ahead. As he left, White redirected her gaze toward the parallel train, staring quizzically at the still opened hatch. Before she had too much time to get comfortable, the train gave one last shudder, and she glanced up in surprise as she saw the previously inert figures perched on the roof of the other train begin to leap over to their train.

Ingo's voice crackled to life over the speakers. "Hostiles are boarding the train. Everyone, prepare for combat." His voice remained eerily calm despite the intense atmosphere. As soon as he spoke, two loud thuds reverberated off of the roof right above White's head. They've boarded, she thought grimly. However, as she glanced up, she couldn't see any definite entry point they could use to break in. Nonetheless, she braced herself into a battle stance and positioned her Pokeball at chest height. With a burst of red light, Samurott appeared in front of her, positioned in a stoic stance, and it let out a high pitched battle cry. We'll beat all those who dare challenge us! Its eyes seemed to speak.

Suddenly, the thugs' bodies swung downward off of the roof as they careened straight into the glass, bursting into the train cart in a hailstorm of shimmering glass.

"Samurott, Hydro Pump!" White yelled without waiting for a chance for them to react, ignoring the flying glass as it flew past her face, scraping her arms and cheeks. With a screech, Samurott reared backwards, and a pillar of glistening water burst from its opened maw. All of the weight and pressure of the column of water struck one thug straight in the center of his chest before he could send out a Pokemon, and his unconscious body sailed into the far end of the cart with a sickening crash. White cursed inwardly. I was aiming at both of them, but one will have to do. The second intruder, taking one glance at his inert teammate, rapidly pulled out a Pokeball of his own, throwing it in front of him. The customary burst of red light diminished to reveal a fearsome Unfezant, screaming an angry cry. White had to take a moment to hide her smug grin at the thug's look of confidence; she had her own surprise, which was the fact that her Samurott knew Ice Beam. The Unfezant would be hopelessly defeated by type advantages, she knew.

"Unfezant, Air Slash!" The man commanded in a low voice. The large bird tossed its willowy pink feathers to the side and pumped its wings vigorously to rise in the air of the narrow train cart. The cart filled with the sound of beating wings as Unfezant sent a series of howling wind arcs at White with three huge flaps. White, having assumed the Pokemon would aim at Samurott, remained transfixed to her spot in complete surprise. She could only watch in horror with widened eyes as the wind slashes flew at her with blinding speed.

Samurott, seeing its master in danger, kicked out with its hind legs as hard as it could, covering the distance between itself and White within the blink of an eye. The wind attack slammed straight into Samurott's shell guards, which it had thrown up at the last second in order to defend itself. A huge smile broke out on White's face as she threw her arms around Samurott's neck, but she quickly regained her posture, shouting out an attack before the Unfezant could reach the ground once more.

"Samurott, Ice Beam!" The temperature of the cart dropped instantly as Samurott opened its mouth once more, taking a massive inhale as ice gathered between its razor sharp teeth. Then, in a flash of white, a thin column of ice shot out of its mouth, ice spraying to either sides as it covered the distance rapidly to the unsuspecting Unfezant.

The thug cursed loudly. "Unfezant, dod-" His cry was too late, as the beam of ice struck Unfezant, and the helpless bird writhed in agony as it was frozen solid. Samurott savagely exerted more power into the beam, causing Unfezant to be frozen entirely in a block of ice. Quickly snapping its jaw shut, Samurott cut off the Ice Beam, leaving the Unfezant suspended frozen in the air. White laughed as she realized what would happen next.

The thug could hardly look up in time before the frozen bird Pokemon went sailing straight onto his head, sending them both crashing to the ground in an unconscious heap. The ice surrounding the Pokemon shattered as it struck the ground, but neither the Pokemon nor the trainer stood back up.

"Yes, we did it!" White yelled in victory, pumping her fist in the air. She went to congratulate Samurott when a sudden explosion from the cart ahead caused her to glance up quickly. The cart itself was rocking violently, and smoke was pouring out of the shattered windows.

White shook her head. "Black and Emboar might be strong," she told Samurott, "but they don't have our grace, that's for sure." Samurott grunted in agreement.

Emmet re-entered from the cart behind her, fixing his Pokeballs back onto his belt. His coat was still as immaculate and straight as the last time she had seen him, White noted in surprise. She looked down at her own scuffed up clothes in embarrassment. No wonder I didn't stand a chance the first time I fought those twins, she thought.

"The thugs in our cart were apprehended, of course." Emmet began. "Austin is keeping watch over them in case they try to cause any more harm." He raised an eyebrow as he observed the two unconscious strangers and the completely sodden floor of the train cart. "And I see you did no less as well."

"Well, they were good for common criminals," White confessed, "But not good enough when its against us."

"That's the spirit." Emmet grinned, but his smile then faltered. "Well, actually, we do have a slight problem."

"Huh?"

"Remember the mysterious woman you were telling us about?" White nodded. Emmet continued, his voice distressed. "Well, she's currently residing in the caboose nearby Austin, unfortunately. And, well… She's requested a personal battle with you, the champion."

"Huh?!" White repeated herself, even more confused. "Why didn't you just apprehend her on the spot?"

"To tell you the truth, I felt a bit intimidated." Emmet confessed sheepishly. "I can always fight much better when I'm with my brother, and this woman felt…dangerous. I felt it in our best interests if we allowed her what she wanted. After all, what harm is one fight?"

"Ehh…" White's dubious look remained, but Emmet hastily shoved her toward the back cart.

"We probably shouldn't idle while this woman remains in the proximity." Emmet explained urgently. White finally nodded in agreement, clearing the suspicion from her mind. After all, how much harder could this fight be than her fight for the title of Champion?

Two carts over, White finally approached Austin, who was seemingly alone save for three unconscious intruders tied up in the corner, haphazardly thrown into the pile of boxes. He paced nervously, his entire upper body in the most rigid stance White had ever seen. As White walked up to him, he gave her a blisteringly nervous glare, finally managing to jut his thumb towards the final cart behind him. White nodded, and proceeded through the doorway that would bring her to the supposedly intimidating woman.

The air was cold when White stepped into the final cart, and uncertainy clutched at her heart. The woman was standing near the back of the cart, her gaze focused on the window. As White approached, the woman glanced at her, offering her a genuine smile. She shifted her weight from the window back to her feet, and began to approach White, the slight clacking of her shoes the only noise in the dead silent cart. At a closer glance, the woman didn't look like the kind of person interested in stealing the kind of clothing Elesa shows off at her shows, White mused. Yet, wearing a long black jacket, a dark violet V neck and some leather pants leading to high heel boots with white and purple accents, White thought it was still an oddly fashionable choice of clothing. The woman stopped a few feet from White, politely bowing before she spoke.

"Hello." The woman finally spoke, her voice smooth and low. "I'd like to formally introduce myself. You may call be Blaire."

"Umm…" White responded rather unprofessionally, taken aback by the formal manner of her introduction. "My name is-"

"I already know who you are, White." Blaire interrupted, not unkindly.

"Well…" White could feel her face begin to grow hot from embarrassment. "Well, if you know who I am, then we might as well just cut to the chase."

Blaire gave a knowing smile, and calmly pulled a Pokeball from her pocket. "If you insist." She let out an uncharacteristic giggle of excitement as she tossed the Pokeball in front of her, and red light filled the small space.

White heard the Pokemon before she saw it. A mighty roar erupted from the burst of light, followed by the murderous claws and fangs of a massive Garchomp. Its battle-scarred muzzle thrust forward first, sniffing out its adversary, and it let out another terrible scream, arching its spine and displaying its gigantic teeth. Dragon and ground type… White quickly assessed the situation, not letting the fearsome display get to her, and immediately made her decision.

"Go, Weavile!" She cried, tossing out her fourth Pokeball. A small grey blur erupted from the red light, and her Weavile circled around her five times at blinding speeds before settling down in front of her, raking its razor sharp claws against the smooth steel floor. Its pink headdress bristled in rage as it stood its ground against the much larger dragon type. This typing should give me a huge advantage… White thought, glancing up at her opponent. Blaire seemed entirely unperturbed by the ice type, despite her Garchomp being quadruple weak to Ice moves.

"Ooh, looks like our champion here is already underestimating her opponent." Blaire commented airily, as if she could read White's thoughts. White narrowed her eyes, trying to find a flaw with her strategy. Sure, Weavile didn't have much defense and could potentially go down after a few hits. But it was also much faster, and it would only take a few ice type moves for Garchomp to go down as well. All in all, it would be the best shot against Garchomp that she had. It would really be a fight against brute strength and cunning speed, with one being much more effective on the other. White hid another devious grin. I have this fight in the bag.

White's eyes followed Blaire as the woman stretched casually, squinting as she cracked her fingers. Then, with lightning speed, Blaire's face immediately dropped from casual to dead serious, causing White to jump. Before she could regain her composure, Blaire was already shouting a command.

"Garchomp, Dragon Claw!" The dragon immediately leapt into action, rearing its vicious claws in the air over Weavile's head.

"Double Team!" White quickly shouted in response, and Weavile leapt into action, moving so rapidly that Garchomp was soon surrounded by carbon copies. The dragon stopped midslash, glaring and twisting its head around in confusion.

"Alright, now Ice Punch!"

At the same exact time, Blaire commanded, "Iron Tail!" taking White completely aback. Before she could tell Weavile to stop, her Pokemon had already broken its illusionary clones, and was leaping at the Garchomp's back, a bundle of ice forming on its razor claws. With extremely fast reflexes only developed through long training, the Garchomp spotted the real Weavile and whipped its tail around with all of its strength. The two attacks collided midair, but the Garchomp's sheer strength overwhelmed Weavile. The smaller Pokemon was sent hurtling away, crashing into the floor with a loud thud, causing White to wince. In the corner of her eye, she could see Blaire's slightly disappointed, pouty face.

"Surely you can't let me win in just one move?" She smirked, letting out a small laugh.

That's right… I can't let it end in one turn, White thought. She clenched her fists, glancing nervously at Weavile, who still laid stretched out on the train floor. . In his current state, Weavile can't keep this up, White mused. But switching out would only show that I, the champion would need more than just one Pokemon to take down one opponent. She let out a shaky sigh, attempting to gather her nerves.

"Weavile, can you keep going?" She asked her Pokemon, trying not to let her voice crack. Weavile stood up on shaky legs, then shook its head clear and looked back at White, glaring in anticipation and nodding. White flashed Weavile a relieved smile, and looked back up to glare at Blaire. "We're not going down that easily"!

A huge smile spread across Blaire's face. "That's exactly what I was hoping you would say."

"Weavile, Ice Shard!" The battle continued to rage, with Weavile barely scraping past massive punches and charges. Furious punches were exchanged, so blinding at times that White could hardly keep track of what was happening. At one point White physically cringed as Garchomp seemed to land a huge slash straight across Weavile's chest, but she exhaled in relief as Weavile covered its front in a thick layer of ice at the last second, causing Garchomp to recoil its arm in pain. At another point, Weavile finally managed to strike the back of Garchomp's skull with a solid Ice Punch, sending it reeling into the ground. White's heart momentarily soared in triumph, but quickly sank as Garchomp quickly retaliated through a well-placed Dragon Claw.

At last, with both Pokemon run down and panting heavily, White knew the decisive move was at hand.

"Finish this with Dragon Rush!" Blaire ordered, and White had a sudden idea.

"Weavile, get under it and hit it with a Night Slash!" She yelled. Weavile quickly bundled up dark energy within its claws, and leapt directly under the charge of the furious Garchomp. Blaire suddenly smirked, causing White to recoil.

"Iron Tail!" She suddenly yelled, and Garchomp spun on the ground, coming to a dead stop. Weavile, unable to react in time, continued in its leap, claws outstretched. Garchomp quickly swung its hardened tail around, connecting directly with Weavile's stomach. The light Pokemon had the breath knocked out of it, and it went hurtling straight at White, who stood there in shock at the rapid turn of events. She caught the battered Pokemon in her arms, but the force of the blow caused White as well to go flying backwards into the door, where she fell to her knees. Garchomp was cast in a red glow as Blaire summoned it back into its Pokeball, turning back to White and walking over briskly. She kneeled down to where the Pokemon and trainer lay in a dazed heap, and offered a smile.

"I'm not disappointed." Blaire assured her. "And I'm positive we'll be meeting again." She offered a brief smile, placing her hand on her cheek before quickly withdrawing it. As she stood, she took out another Pokeball from her pocket, and glanced down at White. "The heist may have been a failure," she spoke, almost half to herself, "but I've found something much better than what I was looking for." With those final words, Blaire stalked to the end of the train, where she opened the final door. She slammed it back closed behind her, and White only heard the distant shriek of a Hydreigon taking flight before Blaire was completely gone.

White was left with a sinking pit of dread in her stomach, unable to be shaken away. What is Blaire really after here? And is she the one behind all the crimes that have been happening around Gear Station? Panicked questions flitted around her brain in a whirlwind until she grew exhausted, realizing there was little she could think of with such little knowledge in her head. Inwardly, she cursed her own incompetence.

Suddenly, the doors behind White opened, and in burst Holly and Morgan, two of the crew members she hadn't even seen since they had boarded. Their uniforms were both rather scuffed looking, but nonetheless fire shone in their eyes.

"We got the last of them out." Morgan declared triumphantly, but the light died as she noted the battered state White was in.

"Oh, poor things." Holly quickly ducked down to inspect the two. Weavile still laid unconscious in White's arms, while White herself was looking rather ragged. Holly gently pried Weavile out of White's arms to inspect the ice Pokemon for any bad injuries.

Morgan hovered back, anxiously switching her gaze between Holly and White. "Are you ok?" She finally asked White sheepishly.

White offered a weak smile. "I'm fine, but it's Weavile we should worry about. I shouldn't have made it lose that fight."

Holly stood up after her thorough inspection of Weavile. "I'm going to go check and see if we have extra potions lying around, but Weavile is going to be fine." She exited quickly through the door, leaving Morgan and White alone with the injured Pokemon.

After a slight pause, Morgan sat down cross-legged beside White. The two remained silent for several moments, before Morgan finally broke the silence. "Hey. Don't beat yourself up too much about that woman getting away, ok?"

White glanced at her in surprise. "Hey, you're actually pretty caring."

Morgan let out an exaggerated sigh. "I had a feeling you would immediately assume I'm rude." She placed her hands together as if praying. "I just want to reassure you that it isn't the case."

White allowed a small smile. "I'm really sorry for thinking that way. I was definitely wrong, huh?"

Morgan smiled, her face blushing slightly at the compliment. At this, White smiled even broader. "Hey, and you even look better smiling like that rather than glaring like usual!" Morgan couldn't respond to this, and only blushed harder. The continued cycle of blushing and smiling ended up with White laughing and wiping her watery eyes at the expense of Morgan's increasing embarrassment. Weavile fidgeted slightly in its unconscious state as the train hit slight bumps.

Ingo's voice suddenly emanated from the speaker system. "We will be arriving shortly at Gear Station. Please prepare to disembark when we approach our destination."

White collected Weavile in her arms. "That's our cue." She said, her mouth set in a determined line.